With the new "thought police" it is no longer enough for rabbonim to say who to vote for and expect the vast majority of followers to listen. In order to quash some rebellion in the ranks - growing numbers of people who decide to make their own decisions for whom to vote - they have to come up with new methods of ensuring obedience. Particularly upsetting was the new political party founded by supporters of Rav Shmuel Auerbach, and the many people who voted for them.

Avreichim in kollels are now going to be required to sign a form, or risk being thrown out of the kollel, by which they attest to regretting opposing the gedolim and not listening to their words, committing to listening in the future, and to not being a subscriber to the HaPeles newspaper...




A group of rabbonim created the form and text, and it seems they showed it to Rav Shteinman and Rav Kanievsky who debated whether to approve such a tactic or not, and supposedly decided to approve it...
(sources: Bechadrei, Kikar, Ladaat)

Minister of Education Rabbi Shai Piron responded to the news of this new requirement in kollel, and to complaints by affected avreichim, by instructing the department of yeshivot in the Ministry of Education to act immediately against any kollels that suspend or relieve students based on political affiliation, being that it is illegal.

Any kollel found to be violating the law and throwing out students for not signing this form (or I guess for signing it but buying HaPeles anyway and voting for alternate haredi parties) will be deprived of their subsidies. Piron said he will not allow askanim to turn educational institutions into their political fields.. The haredi public deserves, just like every other sector, educational institutions that are professional and equitable, and whoever cannot come to terms with that will have his funding rejected.
(source: Ladaat)

And, nothing to do with this specifically, but just to show how important Rav Shteinman considers it to vote for UTJ, he related a story of the Chazon Ish - the Chazon Ish considered it so important that he sent his wife in a taxi to vote, and he also gave her his teudat zehut so that she would vote for him as well. Nowadays that would not work, as each person can only vote for himself or herself, and one cannot have someone else vote for them.




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